- The UN passed the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty, with effect from December 2014.
- However, several arms-producing countries like China, Russia and India abstained.
- India defended the abstention on grounds that the treaty did not mention “terrorism” and “non-state actors”.
- Huge surplus of weapons in the illegal market is a matter of concern.
The Antalya G-20 Summit saw the usual narratives from world leaders, as we usually see after every major terrorist attack. Time worn clichés were solemnly released - like forging closer international cooperation, framing new laws, stopping arms supplies to terrorists, defining terrorism and controlling terror financing.
The most outlandish was the suggestion by US Presidential candidate Donald Trump that the Paris tragedy would not have taken place had citizens been freely allowed to “carry weapons”. The UN Secretary General said that he would soon present a “comprehensive action plan to prevent violent extremism”.
The UN and its earlier “avatar,” the League of Nations had been trying to evolve “Comprehensive” conventions on terrorism since 1937. That even the UN declarations had become quotidian would be apparent by the UNSC Resolution no: 1530 after the 2004 Madrid bombings, which had initially blamed the Basque separatists and which was found to be totally wrong.
Early Records of Terrorist Activities
Mankind has been subjected to terror attacks since 70-68 BC. Domestic terror methods were used by extreme Jewish groups like “SICCARI” who were fighting against the Roman occupation. The first recorded instance of international terrorism was in 68 BC when Cilician (modern-day Cukorova, Turkey) terrorist-pirates burnt Ostia, a flourishing Roman port, destroying the naval and commercial fleet of the then global superpower. That was the Roman “Pearl Harbour”.
Historians had recorded that:
The amber glow could be seen at night from the alleys and rooftops of Rome herself. The people were petrified with fear.
They were afraid that this would deprive them of food and make voyages unsafe. The Roman Senate was forced to confer extraordinary powers on Pompey who was made the supreme ruler. Some said that this incident heralded the death of Roman democracy. Hitler also achieved the same position after the 1933 Reichstag Fire. We were reminded of this when the US Congress passed the Patriot Act in 2001 conferring unprecedented powers on their Executive.
After the Paris attack, the same proposals are being heard all over Europe. In UK there is a clamour to rush through the “Snooper’s Charter” (new Investigatory Powers Bill of Home Secretary Theresa May) to prevent future attacks.
Flawed Solutions?
Is there a magic bullet to fight terrorism? Pan Nalin, the Indian film-maker hit the nail on the head in an interview with a Mumbai tabloid. He quoted a Russian arms dealer who told him that there were 15 million firearms floating in the world, one for every 12 people.
He said that, sadly, discussions at every international security forum are to “equip the remaining 11,” thus setting the stage for a scary world. Instead of creating further enmity between different religions, races and cultures, why can’t we do something to curb the easy availability of illegal weapons and explosives?
This was exactly what the London based-NGO, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), had been advocating for a long time through their campaigns against gun violence.
They have also been lobbying with the UN to codify stricter gun control laws. They sought mandatory steps by arms-producing countries towards laying down scientific methods to reduce the probability of diversion of arms and ammunition to illicit markets, developing mandatory standardisation of in-erasable markings on all weapons, keeping strict records of sales and details of transit points and preventing such diversions from legitimate arms sales.
Lack of a Coordinated Approach
It is gratifying that the UN could finally pass the 2013 Arms Trade Treaty, a landmark legislation, which has come into force from December 2014. However, its implementation is questioned as several arms-producing countries like China, Russia and India had abstained on some metaphysical reasons like national sovereignty.
It was hypocritical for India - which shouts from the roof top about being a victim of foreign-inspired terrorism and inflow of foreign arms.
It was hypocritical for India - which shouts from the roof top about being a victim of foreign-inspired terrorism and inflow of foreign arms - to defend their abstention by saying that the treaty did not mention “terrorism” and “non-state actors”.
The mandarins of our External Affairs Ministry should have realised that UN cannot include these expressions as they have not been able to define terrorism through reasons cited by me in my column on September 30.
Proliferation of Illegal Weapons
Meanwhile, huge surplus of weapons are circulating in the illegal market. Stev Coll estimates that 65,000 tonnes per year were supplied to the Afghan Mujahideen. Small Arms Survey says that 85,000 Cambodian weapons were surplus.
To this we should add the weapons supplied by the Western and Arab states to non-state actors in Syria and Libya during the Arab Spring and also the US-Iraqi arms dump looted by ISIS from Mosul in June 2014.
(The writer is a former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, and also member of the High Level Committee which enquired into the police performance during 26/11 Mumbai.)
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